This was my first experience with blogging, and I really enjoyed it. It was a new way for me to express myself and have my voice heard by others (i.e. my classmates). I am one of those people who tend to express myself better in writing than I do speaking, and so I felt very comfortable sharing my thoughts with classmates in an online setting, whereas I probably wouldn’t have felt the same way if we had been in an actual classroom setting. I really enjoyed the class as a whole because it made me aware of how I communicate online. The class is entitled communication, culture, and cyberspace, and what better way to learn about communicating via cyberspace then to conduct the class online and experience this form of communication first-hand?
Probably my favorite part of the class was doing the blog assignments. The prompts caused me to think of things that I never would have considered otherwise. The first blog assignment, in which we had to abstain from the internet for a 24 hour period, made me realize just how much I rely on the internet as part of my everyday life, which is something that I took for granted before. After realizing this, the rest of the blog assignments made me look at different aspects of internet use and online communication, such as social networking and academic research, as well as differences in internet usage across age generations. To be perfectly honest, the thing that I disliked the most about the class was having to read. This has nothing to do with the material; I’m just not a fan of reading in general. However, I realize that the readings were necessary for us to understand and further our knowledge about online communication.
I would keep the class as is for the most part, because I feel that the weekly blogs and reading assignments were important. If I could change anything about the class, I would have to say that students should be able to interact more online. The only time we were interacting with each other was in posting blogs or discussion board questions, or posting in response to others. However, as we found out in this class, there are many different online venues in which we can communicate with others, including online communities, social networking sites, or chat rooms. I think it would have been interesting for us to communicate in these different settings so that we could see first-hand the benefits and problems that can arise with different types of online communication.
In this week’s reading, Postman discusses the need for us to understand the relationship between technology and society, so that we as students will be able to conduct informed conversations on “where technology is taking us and how”. I feel this class definitely helped to put us all in the position of “informed student”. We learned at just how important technology is becoming in society and how it is shaping the way we communicate with others. Before this class, I probably wouldn’t have been comfortable carrying on a discussion about where technology is taking us, because I was not quite sure. Now, I am much more confident in my knowledge of the subject.
Hi Erica,
I particularly liked your thought that more of this class be interactive. Thinking back to our blogging assignment on social networking sites, wouldn’t it have been fun (and educational) if there were a group set up on Facebook for the students of the class and we had to post our reading assignments on there instead of Blackboard? Honestly, most students who are in these online classes have a pretty good handle on the Blackboard concept, so why not take it outside the norm and really let us experience CMC at it’s finest? I definitely liked the blogging concept though. I think it not only exposes the students who’ve never had a blog to the medium, but we are gaining valuable experience that will help us in the real world for jobs and whatnot.
Great post!
Heather
Your enjoyment of the blogging experience reminded me of something I thought of when I first started to get a hang of the whole blogging thing…probably six weeks into our class..hehe..
For awhile I somewhat got into it, you know- voicing my perspective and having feedback that both supported AND challenged assumptions I had made- that was intriguing.
But I wonder what blogging is like when we’re not part of a preestablished network, an entire group of online communicators that are not only inclined, but REQUIRED, to look at our own personal opinions, reactions, feelings, etc. Is there the same feedback? Does anyone care? Will people respond? Do you have to know other bloggers to receive a warm-reception or are you just spouting off your feelings to the unknown?
Luckily (eh…) for me, I will be finding this out soon- as part of an intern assignment, I am supposed to start blogging about…you guessed it, communication
To bad we didn’t have other interaction venues, because it would be interesting to keep the discussion going as we all take what we’ve learned from this course into the “real world” 
Good luck with finals!
I too am more confident about discussing technology and it’s advancements. Before this class I was like you and had little knowledge about technology; so it’s been great learning so much about this subject.
I too prefer writing to reading. I am easily distracted when I read, so half the time I lose focus on whatever it is I am trying to read. For me, writing keeps my interest and it is easy for me to stay focused on something I am writing.
I think this class has been so helpful to me in many ways especially with sharpening up on my writing skills
I would like to have seen a liitle more organization of the information pertaining to assignment guidlines, and possibly a check list of events. An ongoing list of current students in the class. No use commenting in a blog if the owner dropped the class.
Hello!
Please do it right now. I love it to read something aboutthis theme